Classifying scale



Dec'. 12, 1944. M. A. WEcKERLY` cLAssIFYING SCALE Filed Sept. 26, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEYS www M. A. wE ;i ER| .Y

CLASSIFYING SCALE Filed sept. 26,. 1941 4 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR Dec.12, 1944. M A. W-ECKERLY 2,364,832

CLASS IFYING SCALE Filed sept. 26, 1941 4 sheets-sheet 5 FZ/Q I I/l/dr/f 4. Mecker/y v INVENTOR BY ww ATTORNEYS Dec. 12, 1944. M. A.WECKERLY CLASSIFYING SCALE Filed sept. 2e, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 /l//"AWe cker-/ INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 12, 194i ,UNITED STATE MarkA.. Weckerly, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to f Toledo Scale-Company, Toledo,Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application September 26,'1941, SerialNo.i12,456 2 claims. g (c1. 209-121) This invention relates to weighingscales, and more particularly to scales for continuouslyY weighing andgrading similar articles which must 'fall within certain closetolerances to be acceptrapidly testing, by means of weight, or 'otherdimension, such articles as are being manufactured. This is particularlytrue in the-manufacture of packaged goods and in themanufacture `of,various classes of articles in which each individual item must conform,as nearly as possible, to every other like item. Examples of this latterclassication oi goods are balls for various sports which must beweighed/to close tolerances to guarantee certain performance, identicalparts for motors or engines and many other standardized parts,accessories or articles.

Various methods for testing and grading such standardized articles havebeen devised. Among these are conveyor bcltscales whichreject itemsfalling without the tolerance as theyl pass over the weighing scale on aconveyor belt, rotary table scales comprising one or more scales mountedon a rotary table which receive the article to be weighed in oneposition and while rotating weigh and grade it, and scales which areymanually operated and which merely indicate whether or not the articleplaced thereon falls within the established tolerance. It isparticularly difilcult when using any of these systems to handlespherically shaped articles and,`therefore, articles such as golf balls,tennis'balls, etc., have usually been weighed individually and by meansof manual operations.

It is an object of lthis invention to provide an automatic repetitiveweighing scale for feeding f and grading spherical articles, such asgolf balls,

rapidly and accurately tol within close tolerances.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a weighing scale forweighing articles which must be manufactured within close tolerances todetermine if such articles fall within such tolerances and, if they donot, to reject them.

It is a further object of this invention to pro- `vide apparatus forgrading articles according to weight and for rejecting those which fallwithout established weight tolerances.

More specic objects and advantages are apparent from the description, inwhich reference is had to the accompanying drawings illustrating apreferred form of scale embodying the invention.

In the drawings: Fig. I is a view inelevation of a weighing scaleembodying the invention, parts being shown in section and parts beingbroken away.

Fig. II is a fragmentary plan view on a. slightly larger scale of thedevice shown in Fig. I, certain parts being broken away and certainparts being shown in section.

Fig. III is a vertical sectional view, taken from the position indicatedby the line III-III of Fig.

scale o f a portion oi.' the mechanism shown in Fig. I and illustratingin particular a feeding de-"-.

vice and the parts associated therewith.

Fig. V is a sectional view, taken substantially on; n

the line V-V of Fig. IV. Y I

Fig. lVI is a fragmentary view in lelevation of sensing mechanismincorporated within the dei view, taken substantially on the lineVII-VII of Fig. VI.

Fig. VIH is a schematic wiring diagram illustrating an electricalcircuit for the operation of the device shown in Fig. I.

These lspecific drawings and the specific de- Y scription that followsmerely disclose and illustrate the invention and are not intended toimpose limitations upon the claims.

A main base I0 is lsupported on legs II and I2, the latter of which isadjustable for leveling the device. Located on the'base I0 is a scalebase I3, similarly supported by solid legs I4 which are located insockets vIii mounted on the base. III, and an adjustable leg IB. A mainlever I1 is pivotally mounted on.,fulcru.m stands I8 which are locatedwithin the scale base I3. The lever Il extends horizontally within thebase I3 and has a point pivot I9 located at its nose end. The pivot I9rests in a stinup 20 which is attached to the lower end of a verticallyextending metallic ribbon 2|.' The ribbon 2| overlies theface of asector cam 22, to which it is attached, which cam iorms a portion of aload-counterbalancing pendulum 23 supported on pivots 24 in bearings 25Fig. IV is a vertical sectional view on a largerv the lever l1 and a bar34 attached theretoextends upwardly into the housing 21 where it ispivotally connected to a horizontally disposed link 33, vthe other endof which is pivoted in a bracket attached to the housing 21. The 'bar 34and the Alink 35 and the horizontal arm of the spider 32 tively .whichare Vyieldably held out of the position they assume when the solenoidsare energized by means of springs 65 attached between the core rods A63and 64 and vertical posts 66 fastened to the base i3. The core rods 63and 64 of the solenoids 6I and 32 are horizontally disposed, theircenter lines, if extended, meeting substantially at the most end, onwhich is supported, by means of Y bearings 33, a frame 33. The frame 33carries at its upper end a disk-like receiver 43 which has a concavedepression inits uppersurface. Extending downwardly from the frame 33 isa T-shaped bar 4 l the lower arm of which is forked and between thebifurcations of which is pinned a horizontally extending link 42. Thelink 42 is parallel to the extension arm 36, and its other end ispivotally connected in a slotted rod 43 extending downwardly from thebase I3.. The bar 4l, link 42 and rod 43 form a checking parallelogramfor the receiver 43 to insure its vertical position and movement.

A feeding trough or tube 44 is supported above the mechanism justdescribed, resting on a bracket on the housing 21 and on a, stand 45with its lower end located above nd'slightly to one side of the receiver43. Across-shaped feeding,

latch 43 has two arms 4.1 which extend longitudinally of the tube 44,and two arms 46 at right angles thereto. The arms 43 Vare bent upwardlynear their ends (Fig. V) andv pivotally support the latch 46 in thestand45 by means of sc rews 43 which extend through oversized holes inthe stand 45 and are screwed into the ends of the arms 43. The latch 46also has a bifurcated body 53 which extends downwardly from theintersection of the pairs of arms 41 and 43.

A feeding solenoid I is mounted in a bracket 52 attached to the base I3with its core rod 53 parallel to the longitudinal axis of and locatedvimmediately beneath the feeding tube 44. e The lower end of the corerod 53 is connected to the lower end of the body 53 by means of 'a link54. A spring 55 is connected between the lower end of the body 53 andthe solenoid 5I to retain the latch 46 andthe core rod 53 in theposition shown in Fig. IV. The two arms 41 of the latch 46 arealternately insertable -into the tube 44. through holes cut in the wallthereof, bythe rocking action of the latch 46, which is caused byreciprocal movement of the core rod 53. The spread of the twoarms 41 isslightly less than the diameter of the articles being tested or thediameter of the feeding tube 44.

The bracket 52 straddles the extension arm 36 'l and two transversehorizontal angle brackets 56 are attached thereto, one located above andone below the extension arm 36 to limit its angular movement. Asubstantially s-shaped tare beam 51" (Fig. II) is bolted on theextension arm 36;

and the tube 44 being approximately even. Solenoids 6l and 62 aremounted on the opposite side of the receiver 43 from the upper open endsof the troughs 53 and 63 respectively. Each ofthe solenoids 3l and 62has a core rod 63 and 34 respeccenter of one of the articles beingweighed when such article vis-on the receiver 43 in'weighing position(Fig. III). As can be seen in Fig. II, energization of the solenoid 6lextends the core rod 33 thereof and propels an article located on there; ceiver 43 into the trough 53 leading to a. receptacle for articleswithin the tolerance. Similarly, ener.

gization of the solenoid 62 propels such article into the trough 63leading to a reject receptacle. l Attached to the upper end of theindicator 23 (Figures VI and VII) is a contact leaf 61 which extends atright angles to the plane of movement of the indicator 23 through anYaperture in the rear of the housing 21 and into a. contact housing 68.The rearward end of theyleaf 61 extends between the ends of twoadjustable contacts 63 and 13. The ltwo contacts 63 and 13 are threadedthrough the .end walls ofthe contact housing 33' and have knurled knobs'Il attached to their outermost ends. Nuts 12 are threaded onv theshafts of the contacts es and/1u and can be tightf ened against the endwalls of the housing 68 to hold the contacts 63 and 13 in the position'in which they are set. v

The contacts 63 and 13 may be moved horizontally with relation tothevertical position assumed by the indicator 23 and the leaf 61 when theweighing scale is at balance. The weight necessary to bring the scale tothe position of balance is that weight which is established by weighing'a master article to be tested and `by counterbalancing its weightwith the poise 53 slidable along the tare beam 51. The distance betweenthe contacts 63 and 13 oneither side of such ver` tical balance pointdetermines the maximum tolerance of the article to be weighed and gradedon the apparatus. Such tolerance may therefore be the same amount aboveand below the balance point or, by adjusting one of the contacts 63 andr13 alone, the over tolerance maybe greater than the "under" tolerance orvice versa.

Operation v As just explained, the balance point of the apoperated.Articlesv to be tested (in the embodi,

'ment of the invention illustrated, these articles are shown as golfballs) are loaded into the tube l 44. The lil/st ball Within the tube 44is permitted to roll down the tube by manually rocking the latch-46, orsuch first article may be placed on the receiver 43. f

A master switch 13 (Fig. VIII) is closed and current' ows from one sideof a main power line 14, through a lead 15, a timer 16 and a, lead 11 tothe other side of the Amain. power line. The timer 16 has a rotatablecam 13 on the surface of which rides one leaf of a contact 13. Duringthe rotation of the timer, there is sumcient time for lthe weighing ofan article placed on the receiver 43. If the articleis within theSpecified tolerance, the indicator 23 and leaf63 will be located between and free from contact with the contacts 69 and 10. If, however,the article is either too heavy or too light, the leaf 61 will makecontact with either the contact or the contact 69.

Assuming that the weight of the article falls l within the speciiledtolerance, when the timer has rotated far enough for the cam 18 to closethe contact .19, current iiows through the contact 19, a lead 88 and thesolenoid 5I and then through the lead 11 to the other side of the line.Energization of the solenoid 5| moves the core rod' 53 (Fig. IV)downwardly and rocks the latch 46 which -permits the next article to beweighed toY move down to a position between the arms 41 and against thelower ofthe two arms 41,. Current also ilows lthrough a normally closedcontact A8| of a relay 82, a normally closed contact 83 of a sensitiverelay 84 which. is connected to the contact 8|, a lead 85, the coil of arelay 86 and the lead 11 to the opposite side of the line. Thisenergizes the relay 86 which closes normally open contacts 8 1 and 88.Closing of the contact 88 seals in the relay 86 as current can now iiowthrough the contact 19, the lead 80, the Contact 88, the coil of therelay 86 and the lead 11 to the opposite side of the line. Closing ofthe contact 81 permits current to iiow through the lead 15, a lead 89,the contact 81, a lead 98, the solenoid 6I and the lead 11 to theopposite side of the line.

Energization of the solenoid 6| moves the core rod 63 tothe right(Figure III) and propels the ball resting on the receiver down thetrough 59 which leads to a case or box for balls the weight of which isWithin the specified tolerance. The timer in the meantime has rotatedthe cam 18 further and now the contact 19 opens, which deenergizes thecoil of the relay 86 thus opening the contact 81 and de-energizing thesolenoid 6|.

The spring retracts the core rod 63. Opening of the contact 19 alsode-energizes the solenoid 5| and the spring 55 retracts the core rod 53and rocks the latch `46 back to the position shown in Fig. IV`whichpermits the ball held between .its arms in' the operations justdescribed to roll downward onto the receiver 40. v

During the further rotation of the timer 16 and the cam 18, this bal] isweighed on the scale and, if it falls within the tolerance, theoperations above described repeat. If, however, it weighs either toomuch or too little, the leaf 61 will close contact with one or the otherof the contacts 69 or 18. When the master switch 13 is closed,

' current also iiows through' the lead 15, the lead 89 and a lead 9|into a contact ampliiier 92 (shown by the dotted lines in Fig. VIII) andthrough the Vcontact amplier to the lead 11 on the other side of theline. Since ,the indicator 28 is connected to the contact amplifierthrough a lead 93 and the contacts 69 and 10 are connected in a commonlead 94 to the contact am- Y plier, ifthe leaf 61 lis, in contact witheither of the contacts 69 and 18, the contact amplifier will close thesensitive 'relay 84. The timer 16 rotates the cam 18 further and closesthe contact 19.-

This positions another ball between the arms of the latch46 byenergizing the solenoid 5| as above described. Current now ilows fromone side of the line through the lead 15, the contact 19, the lead 80, anormally closed contact 95 of the relay 86, a lead 96, the now closedcontact 91 of the sensitive relay 84, and a lead 98 to the coil of therelay 82 and then to the lead 11 and the opposite side of the line. Thecoil of the relay 82 is thus energized which closes normally openvcontacts 99 and |88, and opens the normally closed contact 8| whichprevents current from reaching the coil of the relay 66. Closing of thecontact |88, seals in the relay 82 by permitting current to ilow fromone side of the line through the lead 15, the contact 19, the lead 88,the contact |08, the lead 98, the coil of the relay` 82 and the lead 11to the opposite side ofthe line. Closing of the contact 99 permitscurrent to flow -from one side of the line through the lead 16,

the lead 89, the contact 96, a lead IM and the solenoid. 62 and thenthrough the lead 11 to the other side of the line. Energization of thesole'- noid 62 moves the core rod 64 which propels the ball on thereceiver 40 down the trough 60 leading to the reject box. The timer 16and cam 18 rotates further which opens, the contact 19 and de-energizesthe relay 82. The spring 55 retracts the core rod 53 and rocks the latch-46 permitting the next ball to roll onto the receiver 48.

The interconnection between the relays 62 and 86 prevents energizationof'one of the relays if the other relay has been energized. 'Ihis isnecessary because of the fact that, although the sensitive relay 88determines whichof the relays 82 and 86 will be energized upon closingof the contact 19, the reaction caused on the receiver 40 and the scalebythe propulsion of the ball from the receiver 40 might cause the leaf.61 to make contact or to break contact with the contacts 69 and 10 whichwould cause thesensitive relay 84 to change and might energize therelays 82 and 86 at the same time. This, of course, would cause bothcore rods 69 and 69 to 'extend and counterbalancing mechanism tocorrespond to the pre-established correct weight for such article,

electrically operated means for periodically feeding one of sucharticles onto said article receiver, an indicator attached to said loadcounterbalancing mechanism, variable tolerance sensing means locatedinthe path of movement of said indicator on each side of the positionassumed by said indicator when said automatic load counterbalancingmechanism is in a condition of balance, electrically operated selectingmeans for moving such article from said'article receiver in onedirection,

electrically operated rejecting means for moving such article from saidarticle receiver in another direction and electrical means including atimer" connecting said feeding means, said tolerance` article fallswithout such tolerance.

2. In a classifying scale, in combination, auto matic loadcounterbalancingmechanism, an article receiver operatively connected tosaid automatic load counterbalancing mechanism, means for adjusting saidcounterbalancing mechanism to the correct Weight of the articles to besorted, electrically operated means for periodically feedmightV jam theball between the troughs 59 and' 60.

ing' one oi' such articles onto the article receiver,

contacts for energizing electrical circuits when the sample weightexceeds prescribed limits, electrically operable'mechanism actuated onlywhen the weight oi' the article is within limits for re.- movingthe-weighed article from the article receiver, similar electricallyoperable vmechanism actuated only' whenthe weight f the article ex-

